Half of Russians fear Syria could spark World War III

Nearly half of Russians fear that Moscow’s bombing campaign in Syria could spark World War III, a poll showed Monday.

Moscow, an ally of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad,  has been staging bombing raids in Syria since September 2015.

Forty-eight percent of Russians were concerned that “heightened tensions in relations between Russia and the West could grow into World War III,” according to a poll conducted by independent pollster Levada Centre last week.

That figure was up from 29 percent in July this year.

Moscow’s air strikes have negatively affected the way Russia is perceived internationally, 32 percent said, up from 16 percent in November.

 

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